2006 Chicago Bears–Arizona Cardinals game

Background

Prelude

Before the meeting, the Bears led the series 56–36, which also includes the Bears as the Decatur Staleys and Chicago Staleys, as well as the Cardinals as the Chicago Cardinals and St. Louis Cardinals (the team was also briefly known as the Phoenix Cardinals). Earlier in the year, in the preseason, the Cardinals defeated the Bears at Soldier Field 23–16 in a Friday night game.

The Bears

Main article: 2006 Chicago Bears season

The Bears were having a great season, being undefeated heading into the game at 5–0, having their best start to the season since 1989, having committed only 5 turnovers all season and averaging an NFL-best 31.2 points per game, and scoring 156 points compared to allowing only 36 points. This was the Bears' first Monday Night Football appearance since 2003. The Bears' third-year coach Lovie Smith was having the best season start of his coaching career, going 1–4 in 2004 and 2–3 in 2005 (despite making the playoffs in 2005), and notably defeated four of their first five opponents by more than 3 touchdowns (26–0 win against the Green Bay Packers, 34–7 win over the Detroit Lions, 37–6 win over the Seattle Seahawks, and 40–7 victory against the Buffalo Bills; their other game was a 19–16 win over the Minnesota Vikings). The team was led by the talented-yet-inconsistent quarterback Rex Grossman, running back Thomas Jones, wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad, linemen John Tait, Olin Kreutz, and Roberto Garza, defensive linemen Adewale Ogunleye, rookie Mark Anderson, who eventually recorded 12 sacks on the season, linebackers Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, and Brendon Ayanbadejo, rookie and future Hall of Famer and record holder for career returns for touchdowns and punt return touchdowns Devin Hester, a cornerbacking tandem in Charles Tillman and former record holder for the longest play in NFL history (broken by San Diego Chargers cornerback Antonio Cromartie) Nathan Vasher, Chris Harris, Mike Brown, and the 7th most accurate kicker in NFL history in Robbie Gould.

The Cardinals

Main article: 2006 Arizona Cardinals season

The Cardinals, contrary to the Bears, were not having a good season, being 1–4 heading into the game, with their lone win being a Week 1 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, and mustering only 50 points while allowing 92 points. Dennis Green was leading the team, and was hoping for a win to snap their 4-game losing streak, as well as hopefully make the playoffs after going 5–11 the year before. The team's roster featured rookie quarterback and 2004 Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart, as well as rookie Leonard Pope, along with serious receiving threats in Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, along with J. J. Arrington, running back Edgerrin James, Obafemi Ayanbadejo, brother of Brendon Ayanbadejo (both brothers played together with the Bears in the preseason in 2007), 3x Pro Bowler Darnell Dockett, Gerald Hayes, Orlando Huff, Calvin Pace, kicker Neil Rackers, as well as former MVP and Super Bowl XLIII quarterback Kurt Warner at backup.

Game summary

The Bears won the toss, and elected to receive the kickoff. After the Bears went 3-and-out, the Cardinals scored on their first possession on a Matt Leinart pass to Bryant Johnson, with Leinart completing 9 of his first 10 passes. After the Cardinals threw an interception, which was eventually challenged and reversed before ultimately punting, Bears quarterback Rex Grossman threw an interception to Aaron Francisco. The Cardinals scored on their next possession on a Leinart pass to Anquan Boldin. At the end of the first quarter, the Cardinals led the Bears, 14–0.

In the second quarter, after exchanging punts, Grossman threw another interception, this time to Gerald Hayes. Neil Rackers missed a field goal on the ensuing possession. The Cardinals recovered two Grossman fumbles in the quarter, and scored field goals on each of the ensuing possessions, making the score 20–0.

In the third quarter, the Bears started their comeback with a Robbie Gould field goal. Neil Rackers responded with a field goal, which turned out to be the final score for the Cardinals. Near the end of the third quarter, Leinart was sacked by rookie Mark Anderson, and fumbled the ball. Safety Mike Brown recovered the fumble and returned it 3 yards for a touchdown with just two seconds left in the quarter, making the score 23–10.

After an exchange of punts, Grossman threw an interception to Dockett, who returned it 73 yards for a touchdown. However, the Bears challenged the play, claiming Dockett was down by contact. The touchdown was nullified, though the interception stood. On the Bears' next possession, Grossman threw another interception, this time to Robert Griffith. On the second play of the ensuing possession, Edgerrin James had the ball stripped by Brian Urlacher. Charles Tillman recovered the fumble and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown. With the score 23–17, rookie Devin Hester returned a punt 83-yards for a touchdown to take the lead 24–23. With a few seconds left in the game, Rackers set up for the game-winning field goal with less than a minute. After the Cardinals got into field goal range, Rackers, who missed only two field goals the season before, and already having made a 41-, 28- and 29-yard field goals, missed the 40-yard field goal, with the kick going wide left, with the ball possibly deflecting off linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer's fingertips. The Bears took a knee to end the game, giving the Bears a 6–0 record, and dropping the Cardinals to a 1–5 record on the season.

The game also featured one of the best performances of Brian Urlacher's career, with 19 tackles and a forced fumble that was returned for a touchdown. Teammate Devin Hester commented on Urlacher's performance, stating, "We watched the film and everybody was saying that he just turned into the Incredible Hulk the last four minutes of the game, just killing people and running over and tackling whoever had the ball."

Dennis Green post-game rant

After the loss, in the postgame press conference, Cardinals head coach Dennis Green lost his temper, letting out a profane meltdown about the fact that the Cardinals defeated the Bears in the preseason, and because of that, they were confident in beating them again, and that his team blew it after attacking the Bears' weaknesses, and also yanked the podium, destabilizing the microphone before storming out of the room. The rant's popularity led to it being featured in a Coors Light commercial the next season.

One year after the tirade, Green explained the context around the tirade by stating, "We went against this team in preseason and they're exactly what we think they are, which is a one-dimensional team." Green and his staff devised strategies to score points against the Bears defense in preparation for the game. He was frustrated when the Bears won despite the initial success of his game plan.

Aftermath

The Bears finished the season with a 13–3 record, losing only to the Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, and Green Bay Packers, and met Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLI but lost, 29–17. The next season, the Bears sputtered to a 7–9 record. The game marked the beginning of the "good Rex/bad Rex" cycle, as quarterback Rex Grossman cycled between good performances vs bad performances. He was eventually benched in 2008 and released in 2009 and signed with the Houston Texans. (Coincidentally, Leinart was signed by them a season later.) Grossman eventually became the starting quarterback for the Washington Redskins. His last NFL start was in 2011 for the Redskins, after which he was a backup quarterback for the Redskins, Cleveland Browns, and Atlanta Falcons. Head coach Lovie Smith was fired after the Bears narrowly missed the playoffs at 10–6 following the 2012 season, and subsequently coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2014 to 2015 and the Houston Texans in 2022.

The Cardinals ultimately dropped to 5–11 at the end of the season, and Dennis Green was fired and was replaced by Ken Whisenhunt. Two seasons later, the Cardinals met the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII, but lost, 27–23, with Leinart having been benched at the start of the season in favor of veteran Kurt Warner. In 2010, despite Warner's retirement, Leinart was released by the Cardinals and was signed by the Texans, starting Leinart's change to being considered a journeyman quarterback and (given his draft position and expectations coming out of college) a draft bust. By 2013, Leinart was out of football altogether.

Starting lineups

Statistics

Individual stats

*Completions/Attempts aCarries bLongest play cReceptions dTackles eForced Fumbles fLongest field goal

Scoring summary

1ST QUARTER

• ARI TD: Bryant Johnson 11-yard pass from Matt Leinart ARI 7–0
• ARI TD: Anquan Boldin 26-yard pass from Leinart ARI 14–0 2ND QUARTER
• ARI FG: Neil Rackers 41-yard field goal ARI 17–0
• ARI FG: Rackers 28-yard field goal ARI 20–0 3RD QUARTER
• CHI FG: Robbie Gould 23-yard field goal ARI 20–3
• ARI FG: Rackers 29-yard field goal ARI 23–3
• CHI TD: Mike Brown 3-yard fumble return ARI 23–10 4TH QUARTER
• CHI TD: Charles Tillman 40-yard fumble return ARI 23–17
• CHI TD: Devin Hester 83-yard punt return CHI 24–23

Officials

• Referee: Jerome Boger (#23)
• Umpire: Carl Madsen (#92)
• Head linesman: Ed Camp (#134)
• Line judge: Jeff Bergman (#32)
• Field judge: Scott Steenson (#88)
• Side judge: Joe Larrew (#73)
• Back judge: Perry Paganelli (#46)

References

References

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